Silencer and recoil reducer for firearms



Jan. 4, 1949. BAUER sIILENcER AND RECOIL REDUCER FOR FIREARMS Filed June 1944 Patented Jan. 4, 1 949 UNITED SITENCER'AND REcomREnrioEE-Fom FIREARMS:

AugustBa/uer, Beecl hurstnN Application Junefi; 1944; S Qe'rialNo; 53%:981

. 1; This invention relates to; an improved meansfor'reducing the recoil; andthenoise; of-discharg-. ing firearms.

I In. particular, the invention relates to means to. be. positioned at the discharge end oft'he 'barrel of a'firearm, to disperse the-gaseousdischarge there-cf "in such manner as to reduce the recoil; and to lessen the noise of discharge.

It ,is anoloject of the invention to provide an improved means for reducing-the-recoil of a discharging firearm by causing-the escapinggases' to separate and to take oppositelydirect-edpathe Whichare substantially radial of the axisof the barrel of the firearm, rather th'an'aXiaHy-therecf.

this another object offlt'he invention to provide ade'vice for use onifirearms, which by suitably diverting. the gaseous discharge in directions-Ta dially of the 'barrel' Will reduce recoil", and-compensate the firearm against theusuartendencw of the barrel of the arm, to J'l mpin; averti'cahdi rectionuponfiring.

It is yet another object of "the invention try-provide a recoil reducer whichis ofrugged; inexpem' sive construction, capable of manufacture casting, forging, er-welding; according-to thesize and strength requirements oithefirearm or'ord' nance' piece with which the inventionv tr he" used.

It is another object of theinventionto'prov ide a silencer and recoiLreducer which is-inherently= self cooling;

It is a furtlierobject of the invention tee-pres vide a silencer for afirearm Whichdoesnct re--' quire multitudinousbafil'es and complexcounters current flow of gases, thereby-minimizing back pressure.

Experimentation establishes that the recoil; commonly known as kick, ofiafirearrmi's the. result of the gases escaping from the-muzzlezof: the firearm after the projectile has-been: dis charged. There isn-o reaction: during-the instantr in which thegases are acting upon the projectilei in forcing it through :the barrel, since thezforwarctz and backward pressures created by: the=-gases=-expaneling -withinthe loarrel are equal and opposite. It is only afterthe projectile has beenaclisch-arged' from thebarrel that the gases,,.escapingim the: line of the axis of the barrel, a rean anm force on the firearm; A rocket;v duringo thez-stage when the reactionof the escapinggasesflspropellingthe rocket, is analogous-tear firearmiaflterr the projectile has-been; discharged" andsth'ezgases;v

are continuingto flow. from therbarreli.

The presentinven-tion: provides meanswhereby the. escaping: gases are: divided. and caused: 56

1 claim; (01. 89 .14 )1:

fifi fi'w substantially radially with respect tmthe barrelof the firearmz Such: angular discharge oft gases may-be over approximately-the fiill cirecumferenoe oi ia circle or over anysmaller pro-- portiom thereof. "Fins or guide Walls define gasfilow passageswhich establish a pattern: ofgasdifs-cliarg'e such that the reactive forces of the gases inopposi te directions and therefore tend toneutraiizeeach other.

'Fhe dispersion of'diseharginggases by means ofthe present invention is efi'ective; additionally tc materially reducingthe recoil, te/quiet-tl'1e-- discharge; because the vacuum zone normallycon centratedimmediately-behind anally-discharging gases is distributed overawvidenar-ea, Withresult inglessecncentrationcf airdisturban-ceand cor respondingly less noise resulting-therefrom.

An import-ans advantage of my invention: re-

sides i'nthe fact that whereas conventional silencers arecharacterizedby substantial lengthandinultiplicity orb'afiles -to-cau'se a staggeredgasflow, t'he inventiomhereindisclos ed 'efiec-tively-reducesrec-ofl" and rroise bvmeans ofa-device-whichemplbysmo-c'ountercurren-t flow' andth'erefore-no complexazrangement ofbafiie Walls.

A furtheradvantage of the present inventionais thatit mayhe appl'i'eci to rifles; pistols; or-other armshavingconv-entionar front and rear sights. without con'cealin g such sights 'orconflicting with usual sighting or aiming?" practices.

With' the foregoing and other ohj ects inmind; referenceis-had-tothe attached' sheet of draw-- ings illustrating practical embodiments of the' in'-- vent-io'n-and in which:

Figs 1-i's-' aquarter-sectional view-"cl che practicalembodiment of the invention; as applied: to a gun barreloran adapter for attachment. to. a. gun barrel;

'21 is a; quarter-sectional. viewi. of? a second embcdlmentzon the invention; as: appliedssimilarzly to theme.- llembodimen-t;

F'iga 3 is an, end elevation; of: the structure" of: fligel takenion lines :31-3 thereof:

Fig.4 is-a side sectional elevation of the emez bndimenizof. F582. lgttakenon lines; l--4: or Fig 3-;- and Rig; .5. is; a. nerspective; of: the embodiment, of theinventiomdisclosed .invFig; 2, as-rapplied tot-heend otraerifie.v r

Referringto, the, dr-aim'ngs, and initially to Fig; 2,. [.0 regresents an embodiment:ofrtheidevice nare ticnla'rlyr suited for, use with a rifle; pistoL. or

othenwarmr having a; front: sight-.. The structure includes a bodyeper-tioni i4, having a; bore ll therethmugh; ,and-a-pluralitifl; illustratively-three,

ide walls l4, l5, it. In the embodiments of Figs. 2 and 5, the walls are interrupted by upper and lower walls l1, 18, which are concave to be lower than the front sight IQ of the arm. The walls define gas-flow passages 20, 2| which communicate with and are on diametrically opposite sides of the bore I2.

Each of the passages comprehends one quarter of the total circumference, more or less, and serves to direct the flow of the discharging gases in a generally sideward direction.

Fig. 2 vention to muzzle of a rifle, or to an adapter by means of which the device may be attached to;

the muzzle. Assuming, for purpose of illustration, that 22 represents such rifle-barrel or adapter member, the said threaded for cooperation with a threaded socket 23 at the rear of the body of the device l;

As clearly appears in Fig. 2, the walls IE, IS, desirably have an ,airfoil shape, with the inner edges, adjacent the bore [2, thickened to correspond generally to the leading edge of an airplane wing. The discharge ends of the passages may be of larger area than the inlet ends, to accommodate the gaseous expansion. As also appears in Fig. 2, the spacingbetween the inner ends of the diametrically opposite walls I6 is greater than the spacing between the inner ends of the diametrically opposite walls l5. The spacing between the inner end of each wall l6 and the adjacent surface of each wall I is less than the spacing between the inner end of each wall [5 and the adjacent surface of each wall I. The

airfoil cross section and curved shape of the Walls minimize friction and increase the efficiency of gaseous expulsion. I

Fig. 1 typifies an embodiment of the invention, designated 30, which is particularly applicable to larger-caliber ordnance, which are sighted by means of apparatus not disposed on or in close relationship with the barrel. In such application it is not necessary to provide concave surfaces to clear the sights, andhence the structure may be of full circular cross section, as indicated in According to the showing of Fig. 1, the silencer has a socket portion 3|, screw threaded for attachment to the barrel or to an adapter, as aforesaid. A succession of concentric substantially funnel-like walls 32, 33, 34, interconnected by ribs 35, define gas-flow passages 36, 31, which, except for the intervening ribs 35, occupy the full circular periphery. The spacing between the inner end of the respective baffles 34 and the adjacent surfaces of baffles 33 is less than the spacing between 33 and the adjacent surface of bafiies 32.

The said ribs 35 may be generally U-shaped, as shown, to provide air passages 38; the baffles 33, 32 are apertured to afford a continuous air passage from'a point of entry 39, to exits 40 between walls 32 and 33, and M, adjacent the mouth of the device, as shown in Fig. 4. If desired the entry 39 may be hooded, as by the substantially semi-circular wall 42.

For relatively small caliber arms, the device either in the Fig. l or Fig. 2 embodiments, may be constructed of aluminum alloys, bronze, or other suitable material. The device may be cast en bloc, or formed in sections to be welded together. For larger caliber pieces, the relatively greater stresses incident to from steel or other high-strength material.

shows one method of attaching the inthe inner ends of baflies the discharge thereof may require the structures to be cast or forged I tion, the'expanding gases member is screw directed passages 36, 31

In the embodiments shown, the walls act as heat radiators, and the structures are inherently self-cooling. However, and in the application of the device to large caliber ordnance, the addi tional cooling afiorded by the air passages 38 may prove advantageous.

The operation of the devices of Figs. 1 and 2 is substantially the same. Taking Fig. 1 as an example, the escaping gases following the projectile have a tendency to expand, while being carried in a direction axially of the bore by the inertia effect of the velocity of expulsion from the bore. In ordnance fitted with the present invenare diverted, by means through the outwardly and in very great measureare directed radially of the barrel. The reaction ofthe thus-separated and directed gases of the walls 32 and 33,

" is toward the bore of the recoil reducer, and

4 understood that because hence the reactive forces are substantially mutually" opposing. Rather than an axial thrust in a direction opposite to the escaping gases, the gaseous thrust is radial and mutually cancelling, with a net reactive force which is relatively small in a rearward direction. It will be it is impracticable to obtain radial outflow of gases in a plane which is truly perpendicular to the axis of the barrel, there will be some net reactive effect in the direction of the barrel; but such reactive effect will be small in proportion to the total potential reactive effect of gases discharging solely axially of the barrel,

, Expressed differently, it may be said that the reactive effect of the outwardly directed gases is directed toward a common center, with small force component axially of the barrel.

In the Fig. 1 embodiment, and as clearly shown in Fig. 3, the supporting ribs 35 are so shaped in cross .section that the gas passages to draw air through the entrance 39 of the respective airports for discharge through the openings 40, 4|.

The discharge of gases about substantially the full periphery of the barrel may be utilized to balance the forces in directions vertical to the axis of the barrel and therefore minimize the tendency of the piece direction during the firing of fire.

For example if the muzzle of the piece tends tojump upwardly during discharge, the area of the vertically directed passages may be increased and that of the lower passages decreased, so that the reactive effect of the upwardly discharging gases will be the greater and will oppose the upward movement of the barrel of the piece, thereby restraining such movement.

The noise of a discharging firearm is due largely to a concentrated air relatively high-vacuum area immediately following the expelled gases. The dispersion or diffusion of such gases by the baffles of the present invention dissipate the vacuum area and cause an air disturbance which is not concentrated and thereof, with resultant hence less effective to create pressure waves capamodification without departure from the spirit therebetween have a Venturi-like section which very materially to jump in one or another disturbance created by a of the invention. The number of gas-flow passages may be reduced to one, with satisfactory results in low-caliber firearms, or may be in creased to such number as may be necessary or desirable. In general, it has been found that the illustrated embodiments operate satisfactorily over a relatively wide range of types and caliber firearms.

I claim:

Recoil reducing means for firearms, comprising a structure having at one end means for securement to the muzzle of the firearm to form an axial extension thereof, said structure having spaced upper and lower imperforate walls defining an axial bore for the passage of a bullet; and a succession of mutually spaced pairs of vanes of airfoil cross section connecting said upper and lower walls at diametrically opposite sides of said structure to define a plurality of side openings therefor, said vanes curving forwardly and outwardly of the bore of the structure; the mutual spacing between successive pairs of vanes decreasing toward the discharge end of the structure, and the spacing between the inner ends of each pair of vanes, measured transversely across the bore, increasing successively from the muzzle end to the discharge end of the structure.

AUGUST BAUER.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,111,202 Westfall Sept. 22, 1914 1,363,058 Schneider Dec. 21, 1920 10 1,390,658 Towson Sept. 13, 1921 1,406,404 McCrudden Feb. 14, 1922 1,427,802 Goodwin Sept. 5, 1922 1,636,357 Cutts July 19, 1927 2,143,596 Galliot et a1 Jan. 10, 1939 2,184,595 Hughes Dec. 26, 1939 2,212,685 Hughes Aug. 27, 1940- 2,2 23,014 Galliot et al Nov. 26, 1940 2,348,114 Dow May 2, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 298,935 Germany Dec. 3, 1919 522,098 France Mar. 21, 1921 657,091 France Jan. 11, 1929 761,434 France Jan. 5, 1934 France Apr. 12, 1937 

